Completed in 1978, Temple Beth Or was designed by Raleigh-based architect and NCSU School of Design graduate Michael Landau. The task was to provide for the three functions of a synagogue for the 175-family congregation: worship, education and community. The objective was to make the symbols of Judaism and its culture inseparable from the architecture, one of the major influences being the wooden synagogues of Eastern Europe. The "heart" of the interior is the ark taken from an old Detroit Michigan synagogue. Windows were placed to allow natural light to shape the character of the interior spaces. (Adapted from the March-April 1980 issue of North Carolina Architect)